Extremely rare red yew bracelet (1.5cm x 15 beads). Red yew, though bearing the name "cedar," is actually a yew tree that grows in high-altitude regions like Yunnan Province in China. Wild yew trees are so rare they are sometimes called the pandas of the plant world. They can be found in places like Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang and Shangri-La, at altitudes exceeding 3000 meters, with some trees being over 3000 years old. In ancient China, it was used for high-ranking officials' scepters, the boiled sap was used to wash the undergarments of the imperial family, and it was used in various traditional Chinese medicines. Red yew was designated as a first-class protected plant by the Chinese government in 1999, and logging was prohibited. Existing red yew is generally from previously felled trees or dead ones. Recently, when I went to an old wood shop in Lijiang, I saw old stumps selling for around several hundred thousand yen. Furthermore, it is also famous for the anticancer drug TAXOL (Paclitaxel) being made from its bark. Thank you for viewing.